The nostalgia of a log cabin has been transmitted from generation to generation and a charming pioneering ambience has been captured in many a recently built log cabin. By and large such log cabin structures have often been built lately, despite the readily availability of other materials, at greater cost than a comparable modern structure built with masonry or modern materials in the form of large panels.
Recently, however, due to the upward pressure on building costs because of the high cost of man-made materials, finished lumber, masonry and the concomitant large expenditures for high-priced labor, it has become increasingly evident that the use of a renewable resource such as lumber, in a manner designed to minimize the man-hours of skilled labor required for construction, has great merit. Yet, a log building constructed essentially of closely abutting logs or timbers necessitates the use of so large a number of timbers as to negate the cost advantage attributable to the use of timbers for structural purposes. In other words, solid timber walls fabricated by a plurality of logs of suitable cross-section one resting directly upon another, or interlockingly engaged with one another, require too many timbers to be economical. Surprisingly, by utilizing fewer timbers to suppress material costs, and substituting twin plastic panels in lieu of timbers, it is possible to construct a structurally sound, well-insulated building without sacrificing the essential log cabin appearance of the building.
Of particular interest in the prior art is the playhouse structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,936,571 to J. E. Bauman, wherein simulated logs are provided in their upper and lower faces with central channels or grooves in which filler pieces or strips are inserted. The simulated logs and filler pieces are built up sequentially along the side edges of an entrance panel which must be pre-positioned in the grooves of logs which eventually engage the four sides of the panel. The wall units so constructed are keyed together in direct load bearing relationship with each other, and additionally, vertical corner fastening rods are provided which clamp the wall units together.
Also of interest are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,813,455 to H. B. Lawton and 2,130,231 to E. A. Forceia wherein courses of logs are in tongue and groove relationship, being keyed together by single and twin key means, respectively. It is apparent that in each case, the tongues or keys are obscured by overlying logs and that the function of the key means is to interlock successive logs by preventing relative movement therebetween.